Switch-throwing mechanism.



No. 673,657. Patented May 7, I901.

' F. KUMBER.

SWITOH-THROWING MECHANISM.

(Application filed. Jan. 11, 1901.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED EEK KUMBER, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SWITCH-THROW ING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 673,657, dated May 7,1901.

. Application filed January l1 1901. Serial No. 42,855. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDREK KUMBER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSwitch- Throwing Mechanism, of which the following is a specification,referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inswitch-operating devices, and has for its object to provide novel andeifective means whereby the switch may be conveniently operated by themotorman without dismounting from or stopping the car.

The invention is particularly adapted for use in connection withstreet-railways; and it comprises a box or casing adapted to be embeddedin the track adjacent to the switchtongue and provided with a projectingtable or plate forming a guide for the operatingshoe carried by the car.The box or casing hasashaft journaled in the same, and mounted on thisshaft is a spur-gear or cog-wheel, which operates through a slot in thetop or cover of the box or casing. Movement is imparted to this spurgearor cog-wheel and through it to the shaft within the box or casing by ashoe carried by the car, and the de-- gree of movement-imparted to thecog-Wheel and shaft upon each engagement of the shoe with the cog-wheelis limited by means of an incline arranged on top of the box or casing,so that the shoe will be forced out of engagement with the cog-wheelafter having actuated the latter a sufficient distance to move theswitch-tongue through its connections therewith. The switch-tonguecarries a downwardly-extending pin that operates through a slot in thebox or casing, this pin extending downwardly into the box or casing,with a spring pressing against the same to hold the switch-tonguenormally closed. The shaft within the box or casing carries a cam orclutch for engagement with the pin as the shaft is operated to actuatethe switch point or tongue, all of which construction will behereinafter more specifically described and then particularly pointedout in the claims.

In describing the invention in detail reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and

' wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughoutthe several views, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion ofa road-bed and track, showing the switch-operating mechanism inposition. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, taken on theline 2 2. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view thereof, takenon the line 3 3 of Fig. '1. Fig. 418 a detail perspective view of thebox or casing for the mechanism and guide-table for the shoe carried bythe car; Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view of a part ofthis box or casing, showing a part of the shaft and the clutch or camfor operating the switch-tongue.

To put my invention into practice, 1' arrange in theroad-bed 1 a box orcasing 2, closed at the top, sides, and ends, but which may, as shown,be open at the bottom and preferably constructed with end flanges 3, sothat the road-bed may be laid directly thereon to hold the box or casingfirmly in the bed. The top of the box or casing though closed is so madeby means of a removable lid 4, which rests upon an interior flange orledge 5. This box or casing is located in the roadbed adjacent to theswitch-tongue and has at one end the forward ly-extending plate or table6, supported at the outer end by the downwardly-turned end 7 and flange8.

A part of the box or casing, as at 9, projects in under the frog 11, thelatter lying directly upon the part 10 of the box or casing, and thisfrog-is provided with a slot l2,whi ch registers with a like slot 14 inthe part 10 of the box or casing. The switch-tongue 15 carries a pin16,which extends downward through the slots 12 14 into the box or casingand is held so as to retain the switch-tongue normally against that sideof the frog in which the switch will be in the closed position by meansof a spring 17, connected to said pin and to the inner face of the boxor casing.

The box or casing has within the same a downwardly-extending bracket 18,and journaled in this bracket and in one side wall of the box or casingis a shaft 18, extending transversely to the track, with a spur-gear orcog-Wheel 19 mounted thereon, that projects upwardly through a slot 20inthe lid or cover 4: of the box or casing. Arranged adjacent to this slot20 upon the lid or cover 4 are inclinedwalls 21, the specific purpose ofwhich will be hereinafter explained. The shaft 18 carries on its freeend a clutch or cam 22 for engagement with the pin 16 as the shaft isrotated and move said pin and the switchtongue to actuate the latter asdesired.

Suspended from the car-platform 23 is a shoe 24, this shoe operatingthrough the said platform and being held normally elevated by means of acoil-spring 25, arranged between the car-platform and the head 26 on theupper end of the shoe. This shoe is adapted to be of sufficient width toengage both of the inclined walls 21 at the sides of the slot 20 incover or top 4 of the casing 2.

In operation when it is desired to move the switch from the closedposition, as shown in Fig. l, to the open position, so that the car maypass onto the side track, the motorman depresses the shoe 24 as heapproaches the table or plate 6, the shoe riding on the smooth surfaceof this plate or table until it comes in contact with the spur-gear orcog-Wheel 19, which it engages sufficien tly long to move said wheel onetooth, which distance is sufficient to actuate the shaft 18 and turn thecam or clutch member 22 into position that the pin 16 of theswitch-tongue 'Will be opposite one of the openings 22 in said cam orclutch member, into which opening the pin 16 will be forced by theaction of its spring 17. The engagement of the shoe with the cog-wheelis limited by the inclined walls 21, as it will be observed that when amovement sufficient to actuate the switch-tongue has been imparted tothe cog-wheel the shoe will have engaged the inclined Walls 21 and willby them be carried out of engagement with the spur-gear or cog-wheel. Incase the succeeding car desires to continue on the main track theengagement of the shoe with the cog-wheel will again actuate the shaftand cam or clutch member, so as to engage the latter with the pin in theposition shown in Fig. 5, and thus 4'5 again close the switch to theside track and permit the car to continue on the main track.

It will be noted that in the construction of a switch mechanism inaccordance with my invention various changes could be made in thedetails of construction without departing from the general spirit of myinvention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device ofthe character described,the combination Withltheswitch-tongue, a downwardly-extending pin attached to its under face, ashaft mounted in the road 2, a cogwheel mounted on said shaft, a cammember carried by said shaft engaging said pin of the switch-tongue, aspring, arranged on the opposite side of said pin, normally retainingthe switch-tongue in a closed position, a means suspended from the caradapted to operate said cog-wheel, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the character described,the combination with theswitch-tongue, the pin carried by said switch-tongue, a spring engagingsaid pin for holding the switch-tongue normally in the closed position,of a bo-X-- or cas ing having a removable lid or cover provided with aslot, a shaft journaled in the box or casing, aco -wheel mounted on saidshaft and projecting through the slot in the lid or cover, a cam orclutch member carried by the shaft for engagement with the pin of theswitchtongue, and means carried by the car for engagement with thecog-wheel to actuate the same and move the switch-tongue, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

FREDREK KUMBER.

Witnesses:

JOHN NoLANn, A. M. WILSON.

